Hand member for divers&#39; armor.



F. GALL.

HAND MEMBER FOR DIVERS ARMOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 2o. 19m.

Patented Mar. 19, 1918,

/fw/wra Evan/wc# GALL RRIEDRLCH GALL, or Kings, GERMANY.

HAND MEMBER FoR rnryi-:Rs ARMOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

Application filed May 20, 1914. Serial No. 839,707. v

To all whom t may Concern:

Be it 'known that l, 'FRIEDRICH GALL, a citizen .of the .German Empire, residing at Kiel, in ythe Kingdom of Prussia, Germany, Werk Ravensberg, Habsburg Ring, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Connected with Hand Members for Divers Armor, of which the following is a specication. v

This invention relates to divers armor and consists of an improvement in .the formation of the hand member or prosthetic hand. The Vessential feature ,of the invention consists in providing a rigid casing for receiving the four fingers of a hand and another for the thumb, and movably connecting both these casings by a hollow pin joint which is pressureand water-proof. The use of a rigid casing fory the fingers of the hand without the thumb has the advantare that divers armor is adapted for greater depths than the arrangements hitherto employed, in which the fingers are each arranged in separate casings; in consequence of the many small joints these cannot be made waterand pressure-proof without considerably affecting their mobility. The use of a pin joint instead of the ball joint hitherto employed has therefore the advantage that a self-protected construction is obtained, while a ball joint must be incased in some suitable way, for example by means of a waterproof cloth or the like, which is exposed to wear and damage, more particularly in the hand surfaces and also affects the mobility of the members.

The invention comprises a further improvement in that the finger casing is formed as a tool, e. g. it may end in a cutter. Further the member may be provided with a device for holding tools which may be in the form of an annular eyelet located in the bend of the finger casing, so that tools in f combination with the movable thumb case a casing a is provided for the four fingers of the hand, and a casing Z9 for the thumb, while the wrist joint c of the former may be made as a ball joint. r

In .the form of construction shown in Fig. l, the front members of the four fingers lie in a part Z of the casing arranged to correspend with the natural bend `.of the ngers, and connected with the part a of the casing by means .of a continuous pressureand water-proof pin bearing @,so that the part d can abe moved in accordance with the natural movement of the fingers. The .thumb casing Z) is arranged in similar manner.

In the form of construction shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the thumb casing b is also movably connected, but here the finger casing a is rigid and benttoward the front and also provided with a small flattened part at the part which faces the thumb, which fiattened part acts in conjunction with a similar surface on the thumb casing b, and thereby oers an abutment for the thumb in its movement in one direction. The other abutment g is provided on the fixed part of the joint body itself. This formation is preferable inasmuch as it allows of a scooping or cutting action to be exerted, and allows of objects being gripped and held by the movements of the thumb b together with the finger case a.

ln the form of construction illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 a ring 7L is provided in the angle which is formed by the bend of the linger case a, the opening of which ring may be used for attaching or inserting tools.

The end t' of the linger case is preferably made as a cutting tool. @ne form of execution of the pin bearing e between the finger casing Z and the hand casing a is shown in Figs. 4t and 5. Fig. a is a sectional side view of the joint and Fig. 5 av front view in section and on the line A-B of Fig. 4;.

The finger casing d is flexibly connected with the hand casing a by means of a ball bearing the outer ring of which fits in a boring of the casing while the inner ring is mounted upon a pin screwed into the finger casing d. In order to prevent a displacement of the members in axial direction, the hand member a is provided with a guiding ledge m. Outside the ball bearing is shut o waterproof by a cover n fixed to the face of the hand casing. The keeping apart of the two members is effected by a flexible packing 0 which runs around the face of the hand memberl to which it is fixed. The movement of the member partsis limited by shoulders p and g provided upon the finger casing cl which in their eXtreme position strike against the face of the hand casing a.

I declare that what I claim is 1. A hand member for divers armor, comprising a rigid casing for the fingers; a device on said member adapted tov receive tools and coperating with said casing; a separate rigid casing for the thumb; said thumb and said device coperating with each other to hold the tools; and pressure and water-tight joints pivotally connecting said casings. y y

2. A hand member for divers armor, com-` prising a rigid casing for the fingers bent forwardly at right angles; a ring on said member adapted to receive tools and arranged in the angle of the casing; a sepa- Y rate rigid casing for the thumb and coper- Copies of this patent may be obtained for ating with said ring; and pressure and Ywater-tight hollow pin-joints pivotally conwater-tight joints pivotally connecting saidV casings, one of the casings being formed into a cutting tool. Y 4. A hand member for divers? armor, cornprising a rigid casing for the fingers; a separate rigidcasingfor the thumb; and pressure and water-tighthollow pin-joints pivotally connecting said casings, one of the casings being formed into a cutting tool.

In testimony whereof I aliix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

p' FRIEDRICH GALL. Witnesses: Y

JULIUs RPKE, KARL FRIEDRICH FRENGs'r.'

ve cents each, by addressing the VCommssioner of Fatents,

Washington, D. G. 

